Palmetto Brewing opts to buy its Huger Street home instead of moving to Park Circle

Beer here

The state’s oldest continuously operating brewery announced the purchase of land in North Charleston last September that would become its new home. But now it’ll remain on Huger Street.

The relocation plans were prompted by the sale of Palmetto’s current space to White Point Partners. The Charleston development firm planned to demolish the brewery’s current space along with the neighboring buildings that are home to Charleston Coffee Roasters and Brooks Signs and replace them with a 200-unit apartment building.

Palmetto was told its lease would expire in 2018.

In February, that changed when White Point Partners decided to sell the land instead of developing it. Palmetto purchased the property, allowing it to remain where it’s been for 23 years while also giving it room to expand.

“There’s a lot of history and great memories for us in this space, so we took the leap,” Palmetto owner Larry Lipov says. “It feels great to own where you came from.”

The plans for Huger Street include tearing down the building that was rented by Brooks Signs, which has already vacated, and moving into the old Charleston Coffee Roasters space once that business relocates to North Charleston in June. Palmetto will use the additional square footage for storage and to expand beer production. The brewery also announced it plans to create a “living wall” of “native greenery” across the area where its courtyard and the Brooks Signs building is currently.

Palmetto has made no decisions about what to do with the nearly six acres it bought in Park Circle.

“We still own the space in North Charleston,” Lipov says, “but for now it’s all about making our Huger Street home the best it can be, so we can keep making great beer that people enjoy.”